The Runaways
by WolfDiva
Summary: Ty Lee had already ran away once, to the circus. It was said that she probably would not run away again. However, she did. This time for a very different reason. [Ty LeeXThe Boulder]


Disclaimer: Avatar? Mine? Don't be stupid. All I own is this version of the family and history of The Boulder (Lao).

Pairing: Ty Lee/The Boulder

* * *

It was quieter in the fields around the small village. Though, the screams of pain shouldn't have bothered a grown man such as himself. But they did. 

How many times did he, Lao, made grown men cry out? At the moment he couldn't remember but he felt this time it was different. Then it was a show, entertainment. He didn't even go by his own name then but by the moniker of Boulder.

Was it his fault? Indirectly, yes, it was and that's why he had left the village to practice in the fields.

_Lao's mother wasn't too happy when he had finally came home after nine years. The old woman would've yelled at her wayward son if it wasn't for the young woman he had brought with him. ("She's a bit young, don't you think?") She was softhearted and the fact that she would soon have a grandchild seemed to make up for the missing years._

The movements of earthbending came to him with the ease of practice. It wasn't the fancy earthbending that he had once used to gain money and fame. No, the movements were too simple for that. The tricks weren't important at the moment but the calm he had learned that came from some of the simpler forms, were.

How long had he been out there? Lao couldn't tell but it didn't matter. The screaming had stopped and his mind was at ease. The ground around him was patient and at the moment, so was he.

The war didn't matter. His worried mother didn't matter. His disapproving younger brother didn't matter. The people he had left behind in Ba Sing Se and Gaoling didn't matter. Nothing mattered.

"I knew I'd find you out here."

That was Lu, of course. Lao's younger brother always had a way of finding him, a skill that needed no refresher course. There was only one young boy in the village, though, and his young voice betrayed him.

Lao gave a low grunt of recognition but didn't turn around. The last thing he needed was Lu breathing down his neck. He loved his brother dearly, no amount of time could change that. Lu's strong disapproval of who he chose to bring home, however, tainted that love slightly.

The fact that she and Lu were the same age didn't help things at all.

Letting go of the calm state of mind he had created for himself, Lao dropped to the ground into a lazy sitting position. Lu slid down by his side. "It's getting pretty bad back there," he muttered. "You're lucky that you got out so soon."

Gazing up into the cloudless blue sky, Lao gave a great sigh. Maybe he should have stayed in one of the big cities of the Earth Kingdom. Not Ba Seng Se or Omashu, of course, but there had to be another...Gaoling, maybe...

"_Don't be stupid, that's probably the first place Azula will look...I'll be fine, really."_

Lao's gaze shifted to his younger brother. Lu was bigger than he remembered. No surprise there, it _had_ been nine years since he'd seen him last. Bare-chested and barefoot, clearly in imitation of earthbenders, Lu was obviously proud of being one.

"Why did you leave, Lu? Afraid of a pregnant woman, huh?"

The younger brother didn't respond but leaned back onto softer grass. "Why did you come back? There's better places to raise a kid then this dump and don't say it was because of your 'wonderful' childhood, either."

"You wouldn't believe me if I told you."

"Try me."

Lao buried his face into his hands. "Fine," he murmured. "Fine. Ty-uh, Oma has some 'friends' back in Ba Seng Se. They weren't too happy when I met her and were even less happy when she became pregnant...Let's just say it was safer to leave then stay."

"Let me guess, Fire Nation?"

Lao gave out a hoarse laugh. "Don't flatter me, Lu. The Fire Nation doesn't have to do anything with this forsaken place. They were just...some thugs."

The younger brother gave a sigh of disappointment. "And I thought there was finally going to be some excitement around this place."

-

The object the stuck up 'princess' gave her was a hair ribbon. It was a faded pink color and threadbare with too much use. True, there wasn't much left of it...

However, that's all June needed for the Shirshu.


End file.
